Showing posts with label intimacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label intimacy. Show all posts
9.05.2010
8.19.2010
Discipline Cannot Change Your Heart
I know there are those of you out there that are like me—you exercise self-control, you’re good at planning things out, you do well at sticking to plans, etc. All of these are good qualities, yes? Well I’ve got news for you: those disciplines that you employ in your life are not enough; they are not the whole equation.
Think about it. Can averting your eyes during sex scenes in movies make your heart cease to lust? Can holding your tongue when being verbally attacked make you love your accusers more? Can faking a smile when everything is falling apart make you more joyful? Probably not. Though your actions are well-meaning and can, indeed, produce some fruit by their own merit, they need to be paired with something else. That “something” is a pure and broken heart before God.
Being near to the Lord is what changes your heart. When you draw closer to the love of Christ, worldly temptation is not as strong, you have more patience and love, and joy flows out of you. You don’t have to try as hard with your mind or your flesh to make yourself do certain things. In short, a changed heart naturally produces discipline.
Discipline cannot change your heart.
Think about it. Can averting your eyes during sex scenes in movies make your heart cease to lust? Can holding your tongue when being verbally attacked make you love your accusers more? Can faking a smile when everything is falling apart make you more joyful? Probably not. Though your actions are well-meaning and can, indeed, produce some fruit by their own merit, they need to be paired with something else. That “something” is a pure and broken heart before God.
Being near to the Lord is what changes your heart. When you draw closer to the love of Christ, worldly temptation is not as strong, you have more patience and love, and joy flows out of you. You don’t have to try as hard with your mind or your flesh to make yourself do certain things. In short, a changed heart naturally produces discipline.
- Side note: As important as discipline is in the life of the Christian (and it IS important), it is not what life is made of. If discipline is the center of your faith then you are missing out on the good part—the part that experiences love, joy, peace, and life more abundant! In fact, if discipline and a works mentality are what your faith is based around, then you are probably well on your way to becoming hardened, joyless, religious, and burnt out.
8.13.2010
Song of the Week #7
This song is all about intimacy and passion with the Lord. I gotta say, the first time I heard it, it almost felt weird.. or wrong. But it totally isn't.
Take a look at Song of Solomon. It's a story about 2 lovers. In the Bible, it's a man and a woman playing the parts of the lovers. However, many take the story to be an allegory of God with His Church -- that's us.
Get your heart open as you listen to this. It just might mess you up.
Take a look at Song of Solomon. It's a story about 2 lovers. In the Bible, it's a man and a woman playing the parts of the lovers. However, many take the story to be an allegory of God with His Church -- that's us.
Get your heart open as you listen to this. It just might mess you up.
7.02.2010
Intimacy
Today, we’re gonna talk about intimacy. I really want to tackle the subject of identifying gifts in yourself that you can use for the Kingdom, but I feel like before I can even approach that topic it is imperative to address this first.
I KNOW that a lot of you have a real desire to make your lives count for something. I know that you want to have an impact on this world that is lasting. In short, I know that many of you are here: I know Christ, I’ve given my life to Him, I want to do something, but I don’t know what to do.
I’ve heard numerous suggestions for ways to figure out what you are supposed to do, find out what your talents are—personality tests, career counseling, job shadowing, ability inventories, etc. But as people of faith, the equation for us may just be a little bit different. Yes, you can have some test tell you that you are “an excellent communicator”, but what does that mean to you? How are you going to use that information to decide exactly what you are going to do?
More important are these questions: “What does God want me to do?” “What has He designed me for?” Although you may hear others within the Church disagree, I don’t believe any test can answer those questions for you. Those questions, the important questions, are ones for which only you can discern the answers.
So now the question comes back to, “How can I figure out what God wants me to do?” The answer is intimacy.
Intimacy with God is not unlike intimacy with anyone else. You and your best friend could be said to be intimate because you are very close, you share your lives with each other, and you like to spend time together. Or if you have a spouse then you know how important talking to each other is, comforting each other, and figuring out life together. These are all things that mark intimate relationships. If you are serious about your relationship with the Lord, then it is time to get intimate.
So what does it actually mean to get intimate with God? Well, let’s start by taking a look at what you might do to get into a deeper relationship with a friend:
Do these look like things you can do with God? Absolutely, they are. The first big step for you might just be making time to hang out with God. Maybe it starts with setting aside 10 or 15 minutes every day that is going to be, from here on out, your “God time”. During that time, you can have conversations with Him. Tell Him what’s going on with you. Let him know that you’re happy with how the tennis season is going, or how much it sucks right now that you and your parents are fighting. God cares about you. Those things that may seem a little trivial to you are not lost on the heart of God.
Then, after you’ve talked for a while, you get to the good part: you get to listen. Just like you would shut up after you’ve talked your friend’s ear off for an hour, and let them have their turn to talk, you should try to do the same with God.
I’m not gonna lie, sometimes, especially at first, it can be hard to just sit and listen for the Lord. Whereas I love this part of my personal prayer time now, I know that it could be daunting when I was first starting out. With that in mind, I want to be sure to let you know that this part of your intimate time with God can take on a lot of different looks. A few examples would be playing some worship music in the background, having quiet mediation, praying from your spirit, or reading the Bible.
Lastly, do stuff together. This can mean doing things inside or outside the church. It can mean just doing something small that you know pleases the heart of God; e.g. meeting the need of a person in your community, or sharing His love with someone who is broken. If you’re stuck trying to figure out exactly what to do (which we’ll address in another blog very soon), don’t be afraid to try something different. Many times, I've learned the most by trying something and merely figuring out that that particular thing wasn’t for me.
As you spend more time with the Lord, you’ll start to learn Him more; you will grow in your knowledge and understanding of His heart. Intimacy with God is the thing that will set your life on fire. It will give direction to your life, strength to your convictions, and purity to your motives.
I guarantee you that as you pour more into your relationship with God that He will pour out exponentially more into your life. The questions about direction will begin to show answers, and His purposes for your life will start to shine through.
I KNOW that a lot of you have a real desire to make your lives count for something. I know that you want to have an impact on this world that is lasting. In short, I know that many of you are here: I know Christ, I’ve given my life to Him, I want to do something, but I don’t know what to do.
I’ve heard numerous suggestions for ways to figure out what you are supposed to do, find out what your talents are—personality tests, career counseling, job shadowing, ability inventories, etc. But as people of faith, the equation for us may just be a little bit different. Yes, you can have some test tell you that you are “an excellent communicator”, but what does that mean to you? How are you going to use that information to decide exactly what you are going to do?
More important are these questions: “What does God want me to do?” “What has He designed me for?” Although you may hear others within the Church disagree, I don’t believe any test can answer those questions for you. Those questions, the important questions, are ones for which only you can discern the answers.
So now the question comes back to, “How can I figure out what God wants me to do?” The answer is intimacy.
Intimacy with God is not unlike intimacy with anyone else. You and your best friend could be said to be intimate because you are very close, you share your lives with each other, and you like to spend time together. Or if you have a spouse then you know how important talking to each other is, comforting each other, and figuring out life together. These are all things that mark intimate relationships. If you are serious about your relationship with the Lord, then it is time to get intimate.
So what does it actually mean to get intimate with God? Well, let’s start by taking a look at what you might do to get into a deeper relationship with a friend:
- Make time to hang out
- Tell them about what’s going on with you
- Listen to them talk
- Do stuff together
Do these look like things you can do with God? Absolutely, they are. The first big step for you might just be making time to hang out with God. Maybe it starts with setting aside 10 or 15 minutes every day that is going to be, from here on out, your “God time”. During that time, you can have conversations with Him. Tell Him what’s going on with you. Let him know that you’re happy with how the tennis season is going, or how much it sucks right now that you and your parents are fighting. God cares about you. Those things that may seem a little trivial to you are not lost on the heart of God.
Then, after you’ve talked for a while, you get to the good part: you get to listen. Just like you would shut up after you’ve talked your friend’s ear off for an hour, and let them have their turn to talk, you should try to do the same with God.
I’m not gonna lie, sometimes, especially at first, it can be hard to just sit and listen for the Lord. Whereas I love this part of my personal prayer time now, I know that it could be daunting when I was first starting out. With that in mind, I want to be sure to let you know that this part of your intimate time with God can take on a lot of different looks. A few examples would be playing some worship music in the background, having quiet mediation, praying from your spirit, or reading the Bible.
Lastly, do stuff together. This can mean doing things inside or outside the church. It can mean just doing something small that you know pleases the heart of God; e.g. meeting the need of a person in your community, or sharing His love with someone who is broken. If you’re stuck trying to figure out exactly what to do (which we’ll address in another blog very soon), don’t be afraid to try something different. Many times, I've learned the most by trying something and merely figuring out that that particular thing wasn’t for me.
As you spend more time with the Lord, you’ll start to learn Him more; you will grow in your knowledge and understanding of His heart. Intimacy with God is the thing that will set your life on fire. It will give direction to your life, strength to your convictions, and purity to your motives.
I guarantee you that as you pour more into your relationship with God that He will pour out exponentially more into your life. The questions about direction will begin to show answers, and His purposes for your life will start to shine through.
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